My Lords, it is a pleasure to kick off today’s procedure rather than waiting all day and your turn not coming. It gives me an opportunity to begin and I will try not to be long. Perhaps I may put my amendment in the context of the debate that we have had. First, many times in Committee we have heard that this Bill is all about improving education for all children. I am encouraged by and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Nash, and the Government, for their amendment related to the education of children with cancers and other long-term diseases.
I also thank him for his response to the amendment in the names of my noble friend Lord Kennedy and myself about children with cancers, their education and alternative provision. Putting that into context with this amendment makes this amendment crucial to complete the circle. I say that because my amendment provides a simple insertion to Clause 36. It would ensure that “providers of alternative provision”, including hospital schools and medical pupil referral units, would be able to request an education, health and care—the so-called EHC—needs assessment for pupils who need it. It is necessary because the Bill states that the request for,
“an EHC needs assessment for a child or young person may be made to the authority by the child’s parent, the young person or a person acting on behalf of a school or post-16 institution”.
I believe that what is lacking is that the providers of alternative provision should also be able to request an assessment.
Research carried out by charities such as CLIC Sargent has found that many parents did not think that their child’s educational needs were adequately assessed after their child’s initial diagnosis of their
condition, including cancer. That adversely affected the education of the child. Alternative providers are well placed to request and feed into the needs assessment, as they have better knowledge of the child’s needs and have been involved in the child’s education over a period of time. Importantly, the limitations that, for example, the child with cancer still undergoing treatment might have can last several years.
Although some children with cancer go through treatment with minor disruption to their education, some find that they are disadvantaged for years as a result of aggressive and debilitating treatment and have huge gaps in their education. Their needs are very different. Some would be able to return to school with minimal extra provision, while others may require significant additional support. In some cases, that may be during their whole school career to enable them to catch up with their peers and to achieve their potential.
Often, awareness on the part of the school is key, which is not surprising considering that such children and young people are few in number. About 3,500 new cases of child cancers are diagnosed every year and a similar number of other children have other long-term diseases. Because of the variety of conditions, each school will not have the necessary experience. The issue is further exacerbated by the fact the child’s needs will often not be immediately apparent, but learning can still be affected in the longer term as a result of chronic fatigue, attention and concentration difficulties and even psychological and emotional problems. These issues can all directly impact on a child’s ability to learn.
There are, therefore, other benefits in involving hospital school staff and other professionals such as clinical nurse specialists in the process, as they are much more likely to have specialist knowledge about the impact of the child’s cancer and the support required. The amendment has the support of the National Association of Hospital and Home Teaching, a professional association for teachers and staff in the UK who work with children and young people whose medical needs prevent them from attending school.
The Minister has been very considerate in the amendments we debated before, but this amendment is the one missing notch that will help the education of children not just with cancers but with other long-term diseases. It would recognise the important role of alternative providers of education, working in a co-operative way with schools, parents and local authorities. Furthermore, including them in the EHC planning of these children values them as teachers. I hope the noble Lord, Lord Nash, will be sympathetic to the amendment. I am not seeking for this to be in the Bill—although I do not see why not—but I would be content if the guidance could be strengthened. I beg to move.